After learning of a diss that John Cena made about him on Peacemaker, Green Arrow star Stephen Amell fired back at the former WWE Champion, potentially creating a new feud within the DC Universe or professional wrestling.
Amell’s Green Arrow was the butt of an NSFW joke on the series finale for the highly-popular James Gunn show, with Cena’s Peacemaker delivering the line about the DC superhero.
Green Arrow “goes to Brony conventions dressed as the back half of Twilight Sparkle with a four-inch-wide ******** drilled in the costume,” Cena’s Peacemaker said in Thursday’s finale.
The “Brony” term refers to male fans of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series. Ironically a fan sent Amell some My Little Pony art, which he showed off in photos of himself and the items.
Stephen Amell fires back at John Cena’s Peacemaker joke
Actor Stephen Amell hasn’t watched HBO’s Peacemaker series yet, as it seems he heard about Cena’s NSFW Green Arrow remark for the first time on social media.
A fan posted a collage of screenshots showing Peacemaker, with the joke captioned on the images (below). The fan tweeted they’d love to know what Amell thinks of Peacemaker and the Green Arrow joke.
“Haven’t seen it. Too busy showing Cena what professional wrestling should actually look like on TV,” Amell fired back, retweeting the fan’s screenshots.
Amell, 40, has transitioned from playing DC’s Green Arrow after eight seasons on the CW to playing a professional wrestler in the Starz show Heels since 2021. He’s an avid professional wrestling fan and has participated in matches for WWE, Ring of Honor, and All Elite Wrestling.
Meanwhile, John Cena has moved away from professional wrestling to pursue acting, as he last appeared in a WWE match at last August’s SummerSlam event. However, based on the feedback Peacemaker has received, he seems to have found the perfect role for himself in the acting world.
Peacemaker has poked fun at other DC characters
Like Amell, there might be comic book fans or viewers who have yet to check out the popular Peacemaker series. It’s worth noting that Green Arrow isn’t the first recipient of a Peacemaker insult.
Other jokes have been aimed at Batman, Wonder Woman, and even Aquaman, with Cena’s Peacemaker suggesting that Aquaman enjoys having *** with fish.
It’s also worth noting that Cena probably didn’t write that line, as James Gunn is the show’s writer and an executive producer. It’s always possible that Cena had creative input and adlibbed some lines in the series, though.
HBO’s Peacemaker follows the exploits of Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker (Cena), following his participation in the events of Gunn’s 2021 Suicide Squad film. The series featured eight episodes for the first season.
The successful spinoff has gained plenty of buzz and attention, with fans raving about it as one of the best comic book television shows around. Peacemaker holds a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer with an aggregate fan score of 88 percent overall.
There’s already a talk of Peacemaker Season 2 based on the first season’s success, so it seems John Cena will continue playing the role and, most likely, delivering Gunn’s jokes about other DC characters.
Heels also a success, potential crossovers?
Amell has also found another successful role, as Jack Spade on Heels. The series’ first season rates just ahead of Peacemaker on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 96 aggregate rating from critics and a 95 aggregate rating from viewers.
Weeks before Amell’s comments about Cena, actor Ryan Reynolds also tweeted a playful joke involving Cena’s Peacemaker. It involved Reynolds’ popular Deadpool character, with Reynolds tagging James Gunn and suggesting a crossover with his Marvel character. It seems Reynolds is a fan of the show.
Stephen Amell hasn’t seen it yet, and with his recent comment about Cena, it wouldn’t be surprising to see these two cross paths in either the DC Universe or pro wrestling in the future. Who knows, it could even involve a My Little Pony convention.
Peacemaker episodes are currently available on HBO Max. Peacemaker Season 2 premiere date is TBA.